Like most of my favourite finds, I stumbled across Rosehill Woodcrafters through social media. They had a cute post pointing out that they were the only cabinetry company in Manitoba certified by the Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association. I figured I’d reach out to learn more about them.
Rosehill Woodcrafters was founded in 1993 in MacGregor, Manitoba, by President Harvey Boehlig. Rosehill has grown to more than 20 employees and services Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Western Ontario from small beginnings in a one-person shop. From day one, Rosehill’s success has been based on quality, integrity, and fairness. But recently, they’ve grown even more thanks to creativity and dedication to their community.
Taylor Boehlig, Harvey’s daughter, has been in the marketing position for a few years now. She was helping out with Rosehill part-time and doing photography full-time, but when the pandemic hit, her work slowed down and her father’s spend up. She took on more responsibility in the family business and talked the team into jumping into TikTok.
“Our very first video got almost 500,000 views,” she told me. “And 60,000 likes. It was showing off some corner cabinet solutions. Since then, we also share all our content on Instagram. TikTok is more for people who are interested in kitchen content, but buyers find us through Instagram.”
She took a marketing course at Red River College, but she attributes her marketing success to being young and keeping on top of social media trends. Their marketing success has gotten them a lot of attention from media companies like Wood Industry, interested in learning more about the company, just like I was.
“I started in an old church; I promised to make the church new pews for their new space in exchange for the use of their old space,” Mr. Boehlig told me at the beginning of our conversation. “I had never made a pew before when I made the deal. I lived in the basement, and my workshop was upstairs.”
They’ve outgrown the church but have stayed true to their roots. The previous workshop space is now a showroom, and an 8500 square foot extension is now their factory floor. Rosehill has come a long way. As they’ve grown, they’ve added more services besides manufacturing. They offer everything from complete kitchen design – beyond just cabinetry – to installation.
“People were asking for it; they like the idea of a one-stop shop,” pointed out Mr. Boehlig. “We’ve grown significantly since we started offering these services and advertising them. We work with about five contractors, but we coordinate everything.”
The Boehligs and their team are dedicated to offering top quality at every step of the process, which led them to become CKCA certified.
“Any company can say that they make good products,” said Mr. Boehlig. “But we have the certification to prove it.”
The CKCA Certification Testing Program is based on the CKCA Construction and Material Standards for Kitchen Cabinet and Vanities. The standard was developed by a technical committee composed of various stakeholders within the Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Industry, including manufacturers, suppliers, housing authorities, environmental agencies, consultants, and other industry experts. All testing is performed by Element, an independent third-party testing agency.
“We sent our cabinetry to Ontario to be lab-tested on workmanship, durability, chemical resistance, door strength, and other important features,” explained Mr. Boehlig. “After the rigorous testing, our cabinets met the CKCA’s high standards and were certified.”
The CKCA Construction and Material Testing Standard is the only established standard for Kitchen Manufacturers in Canada. When a customer chooses one cabinet manufacturer over another in today’s competitive marketplace, it’s often the result of only a slight difference. Earning the CKCA “Quality Assured” seal of compliance can be that difference.
Something else that makes a difference is a personal touch. Rosehill’s personal touch can be felt in their showroom.
“We always used to have customers ask ‘is that for sale?’ when they walked through our showroom. They were looking at the decor, so we decided that yeah, we should sell it,” said Ms. Boehlig. “So we partnered a lot of local artisans to sell handmade products.”
There are many items, from small-batch soaps to bee’s wax wraps and pottery to hand-turned bowls. Beautiful things anyone would love to have in their new kitchen. They’re always looking to add more handmade items to their shop.
“Most of what we sell is from people we know. The pottery is made by one of our previous salespeople,” explained Ms. Boehlig. Other artists are friends or relatives of the staff. It’s a community affair. “Usually, when we approach an artist about selling their work in our showroom, they’re thrilled.”
There’s a powerful sense of community at Rosehill. I mentioned how so many of the cabinet companies that I speak with are family businesses. I asked Ms. Boehlig why she thought so many companies in our industry stay in the family. Her answer was touching and made her father smile.
“There’s a sense of pride,” she explained. “Growing up and watching your parents own and grow their business? You want to be a part of it.”